The Case of the Latin Leap... to The Congo and Senegal

Last week we had the first Encyclopedia Sound show dedicated to Latin America.

This week we are going to follow those Cuban musical roots back to Africa. That Latin American music was popular throughout West Africa in the 50s, 60s, and 70s... we will see how the Latin groove evolved into unique musical genres in 2 African countries, The Congo and Senegal.

The first hour is devoted to The Congo, where dancefloor staples such as merengue and cha cha cha were transformed into guitar-driven small group pop magic... this is Congolese Rhumba, and we will hear plenty this week from the grand master Franco and his OK Jazz.

The second hour is devoted to Senegal. Whereas the recording industry in The Congo got started in the mid-1950s, artists from Senegal could not record in their home country until the mid-1970s. So this hour of music shows longer tracks and more psychedelic guitar a la Jimi Hendrix and Carlos Santana.